HIGHLIGHTS FOR PAUL IN 2011
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A little long this year, but the good news is you don’t have to read it all at once.
· JANUARY- Started the year out with a trip to Massachusetts to visit Mike, Sherrise and the Family. Plenty games of “Monsters,” “Legos,” and “Droids” with Liam and Elliot in addition to a couple trips out into the snow for sledding with Sherrise and Megan. Megan took me out to see TSOL in Boston. A proper punk show in a bar with room on the floor for only about 60 people to thrash around to music from dudes who’ve been doing it for 30 years.
Another really special moment on the trip came when I took a train out to New Hampshire to see COUSIN TOM! Spent the weekend with him, Melissa and got to play with little Brook Ashley (so cute!) Tom took us out to brunch and on a real nice drive up the New Hampshire Coast. If I’d ever seen snow on a beach before that day I don’t remember when.
· FEBRUARY- Was paid a visit by Turid and Endre all the way from Norway! So I had the opportunity to show members of the Haga/Vange Clan some of the same hospitality they showed me when I was in Norway, while at the same time getting to see some things in the American Southwest I’d always wanted to and just never had despite living there for the better part of ten years. (What’s the saying Niall, “if you want to really see a place then visit, if not- live there?”) So we headed up the Pacific Coast Highway, stayed with Ryan and Sayer in Paso Robles and saw Hearst Castle with them the next morning before going to Peidras Blancas to see the all the Sea Elephants and then enjoying a beautiful sunny drive up through Big Sur and into Berkeley where they had a friend studying there and I got to see my old friend and Confirmation Brother Andy Gilbert…always a blast. Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, Sourdough Clam Chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf, a cruise around Alcatraz and a stop by Amoeba Records before pushing on to stay a night with Haley in Visalia and making our way to Death Valley. (I recommend February to visit the hottest place on earth- the sand dunes were awesome!) We stopped in Vegas for a couple hours to see all it’s abbreviated glory and then pushed on into Arizona headed for the Grand Canyon. As for the Grand Canyon… there was snow there and I’d never been before. We floated part of the Colorado from Lake Powell and it (my brief glimpse of this massive Natural Wonder of the World) was more than I could than I could adequately describe in a sentence or even several pages so I will just echo Chris McCandles’s admonition that it “is something that every American should see at least once in their lifetime.” So we stayed our final night at a hostel in Flagstaff and headed back to LA the next morning: it was an epic roadtrip.
MARCH- Returned to Las Vegas for Dane Johnson’s (another Confirmation Brother) Wedding… Picked up Corey Edwards at the Vegas airport and well… it was all three Johnson boys, some of Dane’s buddies from South Dakota, Corey and me. I was coming up on 3 years of sobriety at the time and while Vegas may not be a top destination for an alcoholic in recovery, I honestly had so much fun with Dane and the guys, it really didn’t bother me- although I have to confess I made a conscious decision to smoke cigarettes while I was there, but all the guys were so amazed I wasn’t drinking they made sure I at least never had to buy my own pack =). From there I drove with Corey out to Chandler, Arizona for Dane’s wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony. I may not have made it my ten-year reunion for being in Taiwan, but seeing all 3 of the Johnson boys, Corey, the Greens and Johnson’s that made it out from South Whidbey more than made up for it. I don’t remember the last time I laughed as much as I did those few days in March with the Johnson Boy’s. Corey and I were ushers and even though I’m a true doof with things technological, Dane asked me to cue all the music and sound for the ceremony, “You’re the only one I trust with this,” he said. With the cooler of Bud Light in the dressing room that was stocked full for the Groomsmen at the days start I knew what he meant, accepted my task, prayed and managed to not screw up the music cue as Dane and Michelle walked down the aisle. Got to meet up with Megan and Patrick Jennet while I was out there too as Chandler, AZ is his hometown where they both live now. Patrick suggested I take a route back to LA where I could see all the Swarro Cactus as this is the only part of the world where they grew in the wild. If you’ve never driven that stretch of road en route from Phoenix to LA it is really something to see and my pictures on Facebook do not begin to do it justice. Made it back in time for the President’s speaking engagement at USC. I waited in line and even snapped photos of the crowd, but as bad as I wanted to see the President speak it wasn’t important enough to be late to work for. I think he’d understand ;-)
· And at the end of the month back in Thousand Oaks I met Jana… I’m writing this in Taiwan where she is across the Pacific Ocean in LA so I don’t want to make myself all bummed out by thinking to much about how much I miss her here, but I can tell you that I am very excited to go spend Christmas with her and her family on Maui in a couple weeks!
· APRIL- Was paid a visit by my cuz Dan Benz! Any of you who don’t know him just imagine a much taller version of me, goofy and caring with the same deep Benz voice, but who speaks computer, can fix just about anything and rides motorcycles. Love you Dan. Drove down to San Diego with Jana and saw the Mackie Girls who drove down from South Whidbey to drop Devon off at her new home. Jana and saw Ray Manzarek play for a small crowd at a former Border’s location. Getting to hear him do all the old Doors songs interspersed with Q and A and stories about Jim Morrison was way more than just pretty cool.
· MAY- Cody Johnson saw fit to fly me out to South Dakota for a reception in Hot Springs for Dane’s wedding so all his friends who couldn’t make it out to Arizona for the wedding could have a proper celebration. Lots of guitar playing and singing, riding four-wheelers and even made it back out to see the progress on Crazy Horse Mountain. I hope I live to see that finished. Took me back to memories of all our roadtrips with Dad growing up. There’s nothing like seeing a buffalo up close.
· JUNE- Went back to Massachusetts for Liam’s 6th Birthday! Mike and Sherrise hosted me, Mom, Dad, and Jana. It was really, really special. Got to go back to the Montessori where Liam and Elliot go for their End-Of-The-Year Ceremony. Lots of time with the boys splashing around in the pool, taking walks to the park, and Dad was there to share some of the “Monster” duties, which the boys really seemed to like (I know I appreciated the assistance). After Mom and Dad flew home, Sherrise took us to Walden Pond on Father’s Day. We walked around the lake with the boys and saw the site where Thoreau built his cabin and wrote about Civil Disobedience. The boys made it half way around the lake before having to be carried the rest of the way, but I think the ice cream afterwards made up for it. Mike and Sherrise even got us tickets to Fenway Park! Dad and I had never been there before so… well Fenway Park for baseball fan is like sacred ground and I couldn’t tell you who the Sox played, but I do remember that they killed ‘em and the whole crowd sang Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” when Boston made real big plays. Before flying back to LA Jana and I spent a week on Cape Cod out in Provincetown where Jesse (yet another Confirmation Brother- there were only five of us after all) put us up at his Aunt’s Hotel. One day we even went out whale watching and saw a pod of Humpback Whales.
· JULY- Had a truly Americana 4th of July experience at Malibu Lake with Jana where the whole community gathered for barbeque, frog races a pie eating contest, egg toss and a three legged race. That weekend was also the Western States Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s High School Youth Gathering. Pastor Scott (who left the same seminary in the spring with his wife Melissa that my parents began their studies at in the fall) asked me the previous fall if I would be a featured speaker at the Gathering and told me the theme was “In the Balance.” When I told him that I didn’t have much experience with balanced living, but had lots to share about what happens when things are out of balance he smiled and said, “That’s what we were hoping for.” I’ve never said so many personal things in front of that many people, but I received a lot of good feedback, so I can only hope that my prayers that God would help me help someone with my words were answered in some way. A week later I packed up my truck, said goodbye to Dale (the best room mate I’ve ever had) and some close friends that came together for a little farewell gathering at Holy Trinity and drove up to Washington to make final preparations for the year in Taiwan that was set to begin on July 21st! About the only acting I did this year was a project with Jordan that turned out really well. On my way up I stayed at a hostel in Berkeley roomed with a young guy from England who was bummed he couldn’t buy beer in the US. I was doing my best to console him and in the midst of a conversation about Bruce Springsteen, Jordan called and told me he was shooting a video in Bellingham right when I would be home and asked if I wanted to be in it. It was a blast and I got to work with ole Patrick Moote and Taylor who I’d met and become friends with on Jordan’s first feature. If you want to check it out on youtube the link is…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPvdhcXKX7A. The only other acting work I got this year was actually a small part on a Taiwanese Soap Opera as an American Businessman that my room mate’s wife helped me get. It was a day’s work, everyone there spoke Chinese and I don’t know when the episode airs, but at least I can say I’ve been on a Soap Opera now for whatever that’s worth. As far as the work that actually generated somewhat livable wages my job as a Clinical Assistant at the rehabilitation facility in Malibu, where I’d worked since December of 2009 ended in February. After almost 4 years I left my job at Trader Joe’s in order to come to Taiwan, but was assured, much to my comfort and delight that I could receive a strong recommendation for rehire upon my return.
· TAIWAN- I sent out an initial update on my experiences in Taiwan after the first 6 weeks and will do my best to avoid redundancy. Seeing Banana Trees as part of my daily life is pretty cool. The memories that stand out the most are watching the sunset on a small island (the island’s name translated literally means small island) with Jana after we drove the scooter around it for most of the day, hiking Taiwan’s second largest mountain with Jana Kara, George and Lauren, sleeping on the beach at Fulong with my sister and spending the next day rock climbing (really just bouldering I found out later) at her favorite spot and picking up trash between snorkel dives, hiking a centuries old trade route in the North with Jana where we encountered butterflies and spiders considerably larger than I’m used to, and then spending my Birthday with both Kara and Jana up in Wulai amidst waterfalls, hot springs and a beautiful river in the green mountains. The Pacific Ocean is so warm here! Megan came to visit in September and I only wish she could have stayed longer, but I was still excited to have a visitor. Then Kara and Andy came down right around Kara’s Birthday. A couple weeks prior to their visit I was befriended by a Taiwanese family who own and operate a small sushi restaurant right next to my apartment building. Upon learning that I was a Christian they invited me to their church. Their sanctuary is a room that could fit no more than 40 people with an old wooden Cross hanging in front of a red tapestry on the wall behind a simple Altar with a keyboard in the corner. They have an overhead projector with transparencies for their hymns and although it’s a small room they have a few microphones and guitars. On my first visit I was asked to stand and speak. I uttered the few Chinese phrases I knew and was greeted warmly and asked to sing a song. They handed me a guitar and I went blank. The only thing that came to mind was “Just a Closer Walk With Thee,” but I couldn’t remember the chords. So with guitar in hand I made my way through the song a cappella and was joined by a clapping congregation. It was quite an experience. The next Sunday I was invited back by the father of the Family who makes the best Dan Bao Fan I’ve ever eaten. This hard working chef and small business owner in his late 50’s with 3 grown children wanted me to be present for his Baptism. The refrain for Ben Harper’s song, “Blessed to Be a Witness” comes to mind a lot when think about it now.
· Now here I am on December 9, 2011 in their restaurant writing to all of you. Kara left for Thailand after having spent her last week in Taiwan down here with me. My Chinese is still limited to about a dozen phrases and I am hoping to take a class in January around the same time I hope to get a scooter so I can get out of the city on the weekends. Pingtung is not a large city by any means (about a million people), but at night I can’t see any stars and most days the air quality is so poor I can’t see any of the dark green Mountains in the distance. The food has a palate that is so different from what I’m used to that there are a few local dishes that I like and I eat them all the time. At my job I’ve found that I really like children, but without a highly structured curriculum or firmly established and effective system of discipline, I get frustrated a lot. That was to be expected though. I came for a challenge, an adventure and something completely different and I got it. While I have no natural talent for disciplining large groups of small children I do love my role as Mr. Paul and really have fun being silly with the kids and throwing them around a bit. I have 13 in my 5-6 year old class and there are now 17 in my 3 year old class although several of them of them are still months away from their second birthdays. A lot of the kids really just want to be held. It’s crazy sometimes and I’m there roughly 55 hours a week. I wrote a blurb on our experience at a home for the disabled where we took a field trip, which I will attach to this. The only other highlight that’s coming to mind right now is the dozen or so times I’ve been back to visit the Monk Hue Shou at the Buddhist Monastery in Kaohsiung. He’s a real hoot and his candid sharing about Buddhism has been quite interesting as I’ve been making my way through Thich Naht Hanh’s book Living Buddha, Living Christ. Still trying to meditate every morning and still finding prayer to come much easier to my loud and busy mind.
· Some of the experiences precipitated by my identity as a Christian and my attempts to practice that identity daily are lengthy reflections all their own. I’m sending one with this letter and will put the others up on my blog as well as include them in future updates once I get them articulated on paper. I miss Pastor Frank and Pastor Janet and all my Friends at Holy Trinity back in Thousand Oaks, but my experience here with my adopted family and their Church (where I often get translations of the pastors message) is one that I believe I will be able to learn and draw from for years to come.
I hope that this finds you well and that 2012, the year of the Dragon, might be one where we can all work for and experience more peace, progress and prosperity.
Peace and Blessings and Love to You All
Paul Benz “the younger”
